Process for treating celluloid products



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FHEZDERIGK W. HGEJ'IQI'I, 0F HACKENSA '31, NEW JERSEY.

FROCESS FOR, TREATING CELlCi-ULOIID YRQD'UCTS.

Ho Drawing.

To all whom it may co were:

Be it known that .l, Fnnmnnoi; W. Hole 'roN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of lllzickensock in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful lniprovei'nents in Processes for Treating Celluloid Products, of which the following a. specification.

lv'Iy invention relates to lillp..()JC111(31llLS in processes for treating celluloid products. and photographic film for the recovery of valuable products therefrom, and is especially applicable to the treatment of ()ltl or waste pliotogmpliic film for the recovery of silver and cnniplior therefrom.

The ordinary moving picture film has e Pllui;().2nplll0 emulsion thereon which contai ins coi'isiilcrable quantities of silver and the celluloid film contains :1 considerable per conning of compiler and it is the nniin' obj ect of my invention lo recover both of these in an eilieient and simple manner.

l iirtlier objects, features and advantages will. more clearly appear from the detail description given below.

As an example of a preferred form of my invention )3 make 100 pounds of moving piclure or ot'gner. photographic filnizinnl put it in on iron wire basket and place this in an iron or steel tank containingfnbont 55 gallons of'll) to 2 073, solution of caustic soda. then beat the niizgcure either externally or iniernzilly in any suitable manner until ream tion starts. The celluloid. film goes into solution and silver is deposited or f recipn tated and caniplior vapor is (listilled off.- The iron or steel tank is sni'fiol'ily covered and provided with an outlet for the czunphor vapor vlnleli outlet leads to any suitable form of conilenser for condensing the ozonplior. For this purpose I may use a jet or surface condenser or the ceinplior vapor may I be run into a water bath anrl' ilie ceni'plior e0l- Specification of Letters Patent.

implication filer; January 13, 19%.

Patented Any. 17., 1.920.

Serial No. 351,196.

would not settle readily. Some steam is given off with the 'aniplior but this will also be conslenseil by the water jet or other form of condenser used. Sonwotlier products such :isninyl acetate, camphor oil and other oils may be driven oil and also condensed. with the cunmlior but the compiler may lie lever relineil by any suitable method so as to obtain the some in substantially pure iorn'i and the oils recovered. therefrom. The silver deposited is separated from the solution in any well-known or sniiable manner ziml is then smelled by any well-known or suitable method to obiuin it in the form of Home metallic silver or bar silver. Wliiie l prefer to use caustic node as n. solventit will be understo d that any othersniizilile solvent may lie used particularly ofilier caustics or alkaline reagents. it will also be apparent lliat my invention in one aspeci is applicable to the recovery of cnlnplior from celluloid products even when-there is no silver or other metal to be recovered, anil also to the recovery of silver alone from other photographic sheet material. Some cellulo o products contain zinc-or other metallic on .ls and these may be recovered in the form of a precipitate from the solution in much the some manner as the silver or otherwise. Many other changes and modifications may be made and the invention embodied in.

widely different forms, and I therefore, (lo not desire to be limited to the details clescribed an l desire to cover all forms coining within the scope of any one or more of the appended claims. I

What I claim as new and desire so secure by Letters Patent, is: p

l. The process of recovering silver from. photographic film which consists in dissoli ing the film in. caustic alkali causing the silver to be necipitated out therein, and. separating; the precipitated. silver from the solution.

2. The process of recovering; cumplior and .inecal from celluloid soul the like containing the some, which consists in limiting the cellrn loi l or the like in console alkali solution. 50 dissolve the some causing the cnmphor to be distilled from line solution and. the met-ii to tion to cause the ('tlIIlPllOI' to he distilled trom separate out-therein as metal bearing precipitate, zuul separating the metal bearing precipitate from the solution.

3.. The process of recovering silver and cumphor from photographic film which e0nin heating the-film in an alkaline soluthe solution, and the silver to separate as silver bearing precipitate, and separating the silver bearing precipitate from the solu- 10 tion.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 12th day of January A. D. 1920.

FREDERICK W. HORTON. 

